Black And White
by Lady Verreaux
Summary: Trouble has erupted once again. Clans will clash and loyalties will be tested, as a new struggle takes form; and all the cats will learn that this is not a world of black and white. The story takes place far past the events of The Last Hope. It is completely comprised of original characters.


**AN:** First fanfiction. v.v Critique badly wanted. I'd be so grateful for it!

A single silver claw sliced through the darkness. It cut through the night sky and opened a wound which spilled pale starlight onto the lake's surface, and the forest looming on the opposite shore. A cat sat on the water's edge to let his paws soak. He listened to the thick silence and felt the chill run through his fur. Another, much larger cat lingered behind him. They both watched for a long while - until the first turned around and glared.

The largest spoke first. "Heronflight," he muttered. His black pelt hid him among his surroundings but his green eyes were bright."My mate will be waiting for me back at camp. I have no time to hear your rambles." He dipped his head as he spoke and pricked his ears.

Heronflight was the smallest, and the tips of his paws were drenched by lake water. He was a meek-looking, young gray tabby with yellow eyes that were as dull and lifeless as a rock. He padded close to the larger tom and looked him up and down. "Your mate is asleep, Redeye. So is the rest of WindClan. . . I'm tired of your excuses. You _promised _me we'd speak of Shelly as soon as the moon was almost hidden." Gorse walled the area where the hills rose sharply from the shoreline. Some-what behind Redeye, this gorse rustled when there was no wind to disturb them. Heronflight bit his tongue and peered closely at the bushes. "What in StarClan's name is _she_ doing?"

A she-cat stepped into the open. Scars criss-crossed her body, and parts of her face had been ravaged. She was missing one eye, but the remaining one was similar in color and intensity with Heronflight's own eyes; it was one of the few qualities they openly admitted to sharing. "Coming to see what my foxdung brother is up to," she growled. Prowling out from behind Redeye, she towered over Heronflight. "Fancied you missed me."

Heronflight's lips curled into a cruel grin. "Blossomclaw doesn't fit you," he sneered. "You need an even uglier name for your face; it looks like a mouse drowned and ate itself all at once, if that is even possible."

Blossomclaw ran at him but Redeye quickly barred her way with an outstretched paw. "We're not here to fight," he warned. To Heronflight, he whipped his head around and flattened his ears. "I brought her here on purpose. For two reasons, actually. . . my mate hasn't been sleeping well and-."

"Please, enlighten me," the smaller tom said.

"She knows where Shelly is hidden."

"A lie!" Blossomclaw herself exclaimed, all the while looking half amused. "I only have an idea. Go stick your face in a rabbit hole, Redeye." She pushed past him and stood face to face with her brother. "She's in the barn, _from what I know_. She's being kept well away from you."

Heronflight touched noses with his sister and spat full into her face. "Are you a mousebrain? Of course I know that!"

Blossomclaw barely blinked. A droplet of saliva crept down the bridge of her nose and clung to the end of a single whisker. "She's got all her brothers and sisters with her. They know of our warrior code," she said. "They know what Flarestar will do to the kits you'll give her if he finds out."

"I-I gave her no kits," Heronflight insisted, though any cat could see the uncertainty swimming in his gaze. "I gave her no kits!"

"Do they know that?" Blossomclaw asked.

Redeye looked uneasily between the both of them. "We need a plan," he stated.

"If it were me, I'd leave her be, brother," the she-cat put in. "You will only bring her more heartache."

"I'll do what I need to do," was Heronflight's response. He looked down at his lake soaked paws and gave a long, drawn-out sigh. "How many brothers and sisters?"

"Five," said Blossomclaw.

"And there's three of us," Heronflight concluded. "Will you do me a favor for once, sister?"

"No," Blossomclaw growled almost immediatly. "This is your battle." The drop of saliva on her whisker quivered as she spoke. She spun around in a tight circle and marched back up to the line of gorse.

Heronflight didn't say a word as his sister left. He turned then to Redeye. "Will you?"

"Yes," agreed his friend.

"Two against five," the small tom sighed loudly. His ears perked and he looked out across the lake. "StarClan save us."


End file.
